For One Moment
by Medie
Summary: Parker hates balls...especially masquerade balls


Title: For One Moment  
Fandom: Pretender  
Pairing: Jarod/Parker  
Rating: PG 13  
Summary: Parker hates balls...and she really hates Masquerade balls.  
Note: This was written for the Ink-and-Quill gift exchange. My 'draw' for this year was Necia . Gave me a challenge but...Bwhahaha...I managed eet!  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them.  
  
"For One Moment..."  
by M.  
---------  
  
"How did I let myself get dragged into this?" Adjusting her mask, Parker resisted the urge to glare at her own reflection. She knew how. The others had absolutely refused to let her out of attending. So determined in that refusal were they, that Sydney had shown up at her door to give her a ride.  
  
Parker hated masquerade balls with a passion. She hated most balls with a passion but, yet, here she was. Dressed in a gown and wearing a mask.  
  
Damn it.  
  
Wearily adjusting the full skirt, she moved into the ballroom. Somewhere in the throng of people there was alcohol. Wherever it was, she was going to find it and indulge. Heavily.  
  
Before she could get there, however, a similarly masked man in an exquisite French Nobleman's finery seemed to appear before her. He bowed deeply and held out one gloved hand.  
  
Parker started to refuse but, mutely, he insisted.  
  
Looking into his dark, entrancing eyes, one of the few things his mask revealed, she found one rebellious hand reaching out.  
  
Taking her hand in his, the mysterious figure drew her onto the dance floor. Carefully, he placed one arm about her waist and began moving about the room with her in a slow, luxurious dance. He was an excellent dancer, that much was obvious but Parker stubbornly refused to admit she was even remotely enjoying herself. There was absolutely no way. No matter how good it felt to relax like this, to not have to think about the hunt for Jarod or the tangled web of deceit that was her family. She refused to acknowledge the fact she deserved a chance to just be a woman. A woman who enjoyed the opportunity to dance with a man.  
  
As he whirled her about the room, Parker subtly scrutinized his features, wondering about him. He seemed to familiar but she didn't know who it was. He was too tall to be Broots and too young, not to mention in the wrong costume, to be Sydney. Yet, try as she might, she couldn't discern who it was. He remained a mystery. Unknown and yet, not.  
  
She could tell he knew that she was trying to figure it out, to discover who he was. There was an amused glimmer in his eyes which testified to that. She tried to draw him out, to engage him in conversation but he avoided speaking. All her questions where answered with a nod or shake of his head. Questions that could not be answered with a yes or no where literally shrugged off.  
  
She could have quite cheerfully strangled him...but she refrained. Afterall, midnight was coming and then there was no way he could hide. Midnight was when everyone unmasked.  
  
It seemed he remembered that as well as she. For when 11:59 rolled around, Parker found herself standing on the balcony with her mysterious dance partner while, in the ballroom, they heard the sound of partygoers chanting down to midnight.  
  
She turned to him with a gleam of anticipation in her eye. "All right...off with it. Let's see." As he slowly removed his mask, her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "Jarod!!"  
  
The ever-elusive bane of her existence reached out to help remove her mask. "Surprise." He smiled devilishly, eyes alight with mischief. "Happy New Year, Ms. Parker..." in a softer voice he called her by name then leaned down to kiss her quickly, explaining his action with a quick, "Tradition."  
  
"What are you doing here?!" She practically hissed, casting a furtive glance back toward the door as if expecting a sweeper team to bust in . "Are you insane?"  
  
"Well, don't they say there's a fine line between genius and insanity?" Jarod responded calmly, ignoring the furious glare she unleashed on him.  
  
"They wouldn't be wrong when it came to you!" She shot back. "Do you have any idea how many people from the Centre are here tonight?"  
  
Nonplussed, he nodded. "Perfectly. I checked the guest list. 23 employees in all. Most are scientists, doctors, and technicians, but there are a few....executives...such as yourself."  
  
"Tactful." She noted snidely.  
  
He grinned. "Well, I can hardly be rude to my New Year's date, now can I?"  
  
"I am not your date." Parker said immediately.  
  
Jarod's grin widened. "Well, we spent the entire evening dancing, I'd say we definitely qualify as being on a date."  
  
"We are not on a date." She insisted faintly as he moved closer, filling her awareness with his presence. "We aren't."  
  
"Are you sure?" The Pretender's voice dropped to a near whisper as he slid one hand up her bare arm, bringing goose bumps to the skin. "Feels to me like we are."  
  
"You need to leave." Parker frantically tried to regain her wavering control. With her briskest internal voice, she reminded herself of who he was and of who she was. By rights, she should have been yelling for help, not being backed into a wall by the Centre's number one fugitive. She should have been trying to subdue him, not melting under his seductive gaze. She was stronger than that, damn it. "You have to..."  
  
"Take a risk." He interjected, hand tracing the line of her throat. "Sometimes, you just have to take a risk."  
  
"There are some risks," Parker pointed out, her own voice surprising her. She sounded as seductive as he looked, her own body betraying her. "Is one night worth your freedom?"  
  
"Under the right circumstances....one moment is worth anyone's freedom." He answered, deadly serious, his tone of voice witness to just how deep that belief ran.  
  
Jarod slowly leaned closer, his lips hovering over hers.  
  
She closed her eyes, intending on turning her head away but, again the traitor, her body stubbornly refused to follow her mind's instruction. Instead of turning away, her head lifted, brining her lips to meet the impending kiss.  
  
She felt his lips close in, the warmth of his body protecting her against the night's chill but that warm presence was suddenly gone in an instant and Parker opened her eyes in confusion, looking around for him.  
  
Jarod was gone.  
  
A voice calling her name told her why.  
  
"What is it, Sydney?" She asked, wishing for a cigarette to calm her nerves.  
  
The psychiatrist ventured closer. "Are you all right? You didn't come back inside for midnight."  
  
"I'm fine, Syd." She said sharply. "Just wanted some air." She turned away, staring at the night. "Thanks."  
  
Sensing his dismissal, Sydney excused himself and went back inside, leaving Parker to the night.  
  
"Happy New Year, Jarod." She said quietly, unsure if he was in earshot or not. After a pause, she added with a faint smirk, "This isn't over you sneaky bastard...I'm not done with you yet."  
  
From where he was hidden, Jarod grinned back. "Oh I certainly hope not."  
  
And then he was gone.  
  
Finis 


End file.
